river's birthday week!

we went to red robin as a family for river's free birthday meal and dessert.
she loved her orange balloons.
she is crazy about dipping her fingers in ketchup or sauce and licking it off.


she was so shocked that people were singing to her.
she tried to duck into kg's armpit. :)

after that we went to the mall so kg could get a haircut. we also went to gymboree to pick out a birthday dress!
when we got home she saw her new bed set up. no more crib. life at night has become a little less easy. she always went right down in the crib and slept for 10-12 hours. for some reason when we got home from portland she realized how easy it was for her to get out of her crib. that made setting up her bed a no brainer. but now she won't stay in bed. what used to be a 1o minute night time routine can now take up to two hours. :( yuck. and many nights she wakes up and comes in our room around 2:30 or 3. i'm wondering if her sleeping in a bed for the first time with someone at the hotel screwed us over. oh well. this too shall pass.

the 19th i was up until 4:00 am having a bake-a-thon. the girls spent the night with sandee and it was a lifesaver! i started with baking a gluten free chocolate cake. there were several steps.

melt the chocolate

beat together egg yolk and sugar

beat together egg whites and cream of tartar

fold together, poor into pan and bake.
then i moved on to making my beloved lemon cake.
then i decided to make zucchini bread. :) the girls love to have this for breakfast.

now i needed to assemble the lemon cake. frosted the first layer and then added crushed, fresh raspberries. mmmm.
added the second layer, finished frosting and then added the yummy raspberries.
two years old!
then i cut up fresh strawberries and finished making the chocolate cake.
the night of the 20th we had her birthday party at the clubhouse.
we took her to zurcher's and she picked out minnie mouse. so cute.
we also had pita chips, veggies and hummus to snack on.

sandee picked out awesome balloons for us.


the two birthday girls sharing a birthday hug.
2 years old and 61 years old. i love that they share a birthday.
time to open presents. she was spoiled! thanks for all the gifts everyone!

lorelai gave her a cute puppy

this was the dress we got her.

sandee got her an umbrella. she calls it a cinderella. :)

kas got her this cute t-shirt. it says, 'this is how i roll'

my parents gave her this baby stroller.

it was perfect for her puppy!

time to sing happy birthday!
i love her face in this photo.

blow out those candles.

kris and jer gave her an elephant.

mmm, time to eat cake.


the lemon was wonderful as usual. the chocolate was a recipe i've never made before and was a little rich and dark for me. i'll try using less chocolate if i make it again. not my favorite.
on monday the 22nd we took her to baskin robbins for her free ice cream!
mmm, daquiri ice!i'd say she had a pretty darn good birthday!